New rules rolling out in 2026 will sharply narrow what millions of Americans can buy with food stamps, as more states move to ban soda, candy and other “junk food” from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
More States Move To Ban Sugary Purchases
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has now approved food-restriction waivers for 18 states under President Donald Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, including six new additions, namely, Hawaii, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, that will phase in bans on items such as soft drinks, candy, energy drinks and certain desserts next year.
“With these new waivers, we are empowering states to lead, protecting our children from the dangers of highly-processed foods, and moving one step closer to the President’s promise to Make America Healthy Again,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a recent press release.
Florida, Indiana, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia will begin enforcing soda and energy-drink bans on Jan. 1, while Missouri’s broader limits on candy, prepared desserts and some sugary beverages start Oct. 1, 2026.
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Iowa Tests One Of Toughest SNAP Models
Iowa is testing one of the strictest models, where beginning Jan. 1, SNAP can be used only for non-taxable foods and food-producing plants, effectively cutting off most candy and soft drinks but leaving staples such as fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy and bread untouched.
About 42 million people in 22.7 million households have received SNAP so far this fiscal year, nearly 1 in 8 U.S. residents, according to Pew Research.
New Limits Layer Onto Existing SNAP Restrictions
These new limits come on top of long-standing federal rules that already bar SNAP purchases of alcohol, tobacco, vitamins, medicines, hot prepared foods and nonfood items such as soap, paper products and pet food.
The nutrition crackdown lands as SNAP weathers wider political shocks. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act tightened work rules and immigration limits while effectively trimming almost $200 billion in future food-aid funding, and his administration has threatened to halt administrative payments to Democratic-led states that refuse to share detailed data on recipients.
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